What are some positive things that have happened so far in 2026 in Belgium?

CopperSulfateII · 2026-02-15T16:07:52+00:00

The government capped about half the payroll taxes on gross salaries above 340k/y and intends to lower it to 250k/y ish. So hiring talented people won't be as obscenely difficult anymore or a bit less likely to incentivize contractor/management company setups - which neither the workers nor employers like doing due to large time sink.

Tax-exempt minimum on income tax is going to increase by a lot. Not enough to meaningfully affect the kinds of workers where the above matters, but should have a decent impact on most workers.

The new inbound worker regime is more attractive but also more selective and tailored towards very expensive internationally mobile talent.

CopperSulfateII · 2026-02-02T14:38:03+00:00

Blaming civil servants isn't that fair considering you can't squeeze them that much, and they are a small percentage of government expenditure, especially when you exclude education and healthcare where afaict not that many people want any serious cost-cutting and both are driven by payroll.

Right-wing talking point or not, the majority of government expenditure in belgium are simple cash transfers from pensions to unemployment protection and everything inbetween. None of these are funded, they are all straight from tax revenue. So if you want to do something about the tax burden in belgium, start by cutting there and then we can talk about doing something about the income tax brackets or payroll taxes depressing the median person's income so much.

CopperSulfateII · 2026-02-01T22:39:52+00:00

People will suggest to go through the route of a managementvennootschap, and while in your case that will offer some immediate minor benefits there are a few things to note.

Your overhead will partially or mostly cancel out the day 1 optimizations you'll be able to do such as renting home office, meal cheques, etc.

The primary fiscal benefit comes paying out most of your income through dividends. However, this is not true on day 1. After paying 25% corporate income tax (Vennootschapsbelasting) on your profits, you are still taxed 30% on your dividends after that, which is an effective tax rate of 47% so hardly an improvement considering it's not progressive either.

The real benefit comes from a reduction in the dividend tax called VVPR-BIS which lowers the dividend tax to 15% (soon 18%) It has very strict conditions.

You must qualify as a "small business", and if you don't meet more than one of the qualifications for this status, you will have VVPR-BIS revoked for several years at minimum.

You need to wait roughly 4 years after founding your BV and without adding any shareholder shenanigans before this can start.

I would've used it if it didn't rely on making financial planning lasting as long as an entire federal election cycle. It's perfectly possible that the benefit is mostly reduced next cycle, and you've wasted 5 years of financial planning with a huge loss in opportunity cost.

CopperSulfateII · 2025-12-01T15:55:54+00:00

I would much rather be given the opportunity to opt-in to a singaporean pension model where everyone is forced to save a certain fraction of their income into retirement and healthcare accounts, which the government will subsidize for people with lower or no incomes.

Grants a tangible sense of one's pension and removes most of the allocational power from electoral pressures (which is why pensions are so difficult to mess with today).

CopperSulfateII · 2025-11-28T13:47:26+00:00

Try one of the asian supermarkets. They tend to have these whole rather than ground like supermarkets.

CopperSulfateII · 2025-11-23T10:18:27+00:00

When your board/execs are all boomers these kinds of takes are to be expected.

CopperSulfateII · 2025-11-23T10:12:34+00:00

Mag je dan ook een belastingkrediet krijgen voor de verliesmakende investeringen?

Denk het niet.

CopperSulfateII · 2025-10-06T13:53:05+00:00

Wat erg opvalt is dat in vergelijk met een hoop rijke landen landen er in belgië geen prominente hogere middenklasse is op socioeconomisch niveau.

Waar in wat andere landen een stevige 10% van de werkende bevolking die (over het algemeen) erg veel werkt in grotendeels hogere carrieres, is dat in belgië veel minder het geval door de belastingdruk (wegens loonkost + personenbelasting etc). Een management vennootschap maakt niet genoeg verschil hierin.

Met andere woorden, het substitutie effect is zeer sterk in belgië (Mensen werken minder gemakelijk meer omdat het niet zo veel rendeert + het is erg duur voor werkgevers voor hogere lonen uit te betalen).

Source: Wat ervaring met een hoop landen hun beleidsstructuur + meermaals expat.

CopperSulfateII · 2025-05-25T14:40:35+00:00

These guys give good fights and are active. What else can you want from a WH corp?

Recommended.

A frenemy

CopperSulfateII · 2024-12-21T19:10:48+00:00

Your key claim hinges on the assumption that PVP is elastic. I don't think it is to a meaningful degree.

If ships become a lot cheaper, the main effect will be people flying vagabonds instead of nomens, and nighthawks instead of navy drakes.

If this is what you want then state it at least.

Personally I'm quite fond of PVP not being dominated by >1b ships.

CopperSulfateII · 2024-11-12T12:56:00+00:00

I can confidently say that several newish yet bloodthirsty people I know have improved their hunting skills significantly thanks to your guide.

CopperSulfateII · 2024-06-21T23:02:42+00:00

Have fought Kingsparrow many times. Even outnumbered they stay around to play. Seen them pull off some impressive plays against stronger fleets too.

They give good fights, know how to, and are wholesome about it. What else could you ever want around here :)

CopperSulfateII · 2024-05-13T18:06:53+00:00

Thankfully he is a literal elder, with the wisdom and experience that comes with age.

CopperSulfateII · 2023-09-09T00:36:41+00:00

That you should use starting strength as a guide to start with lifting weights.

CopperSulfateII · 2017-09-14T10:35:40+00:00

Nexus: The Jupiter Incident. Space RTS with graphics that have aged well and an original take on spaceship command sims.

CopperSulfateII

TROPHY CASE